Electric controller.



No. 801,285. PATENTED OCT. 10, 1905.

' E. WELLENS.

ELECTRIC CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.19,1904.

4 H a i 1% /5 6 75 7, I" Q Q 5 J I I l k w 06% AfTOREY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT VVELLENS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC CONTROLLER.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed December 19. 1904:. Serial No. 237,589.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT W ELLENS, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric Control- .lers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric controllers, and particularly to devices of this general class that pertain to what is known as the commutator type.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and efficient means for maintaining proper contact relation between the movable contact-terminals and the stationary contactterminals of controllers of the above-mentioned type, in which the movable contactterminals are mounted in one end of an arm that is pivoted to swing back and forth over a circumferentially-arranged series of contact-plates.

A controller of this character is illustrated and described in Patent No. 713,712, granted to the I/Vestinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company November 18, 1902, upon an application filed by H. It. Stuart, and reference may be had to this patent for illustration and description of details which are not here specifically shown and described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a frontelevation of a fragment of a controller equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of that portion of the controller shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line III III of Fig. 1.

The main operating-lever 1 of the controller is pivotally mounted at one end or side of the supporting-frame 2 and is operative] y connected, at a point not shown, to an arm 3, the free end of which is provided with a brush-holder head 1, that is insulated from the main portion of the arm by a suitable block 5 of insulating material. In the head 4L are mounted two pairs of contact-terminal blocks 6 and 7, each pair being electrically connected together by means of a flexible cord or cable 8 and being so arranged as to slide in and out freely in order to make contact, respectively, with a series of contact-plates 9, which are suitably connected to resistance elements (not shown) and with an annular contact-strip 10.

In order to maintain proper contact relation between'the blocks 6 and 7 and the corresponding stationary con tact-terminal pieces, I provide two bell-crank levers 11, the short arms 12 of which are pivotally attached to the outer end of the block 4 and the long arms 13 of which are respectively pivoted to the middle points of two curved bars 14, the. ends of which bear, respectively, upon the corresponding contact-blocks 6 and 7. The bellcrank levers 11 are pressedinward by means of coil-springs 15, so that a yielding pressure is always maintained through the bars 14: upon the contact-blocks 6 and 7 to hold them in engagement with the corresponding stationary contact-terminals; but on account of the pivotal connection between the bars 14 and the levers 13 each of the blocks 6 and 7 may yield independently of the other, and consequently the inequalities in the engaging surfaces of the contact members, due to unequal wear or any other cause, may be readily compensated for and good contact be always maintained as the arm 3 is moved back and forth over the dial-plate of the controller to vary the resistance included in the circuit of the motor or motors under control.

I claim as my invention 1. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with a ring-segment and an adjacent, concentric set of contact-plates, of a brush-holder arm having slots therein that are respectively in front of said ring-segment and said set of contactplates, flexibly-connected contact-blocks fitting freely in said slots, a bell-crank lever pivoted to the brush-holder arm, a bar pivotally interposed between the free end of said lever and said contact-blocks, and means for yielding-1y pressing the free end of said lever forward to hold the ends of said bar against-the outer faces of said blocks.

2. 111a controller for electric motors, the combination with a ring-segment and an adjacent, concentric set of contact-plates, of a brush-holder arm having slots therein that are respectively in front of said segment and said set of contact-plates, a pair of contact-blocks fitting freely side by side in each of said slots, flexible conductors connecting blocks in one slot with those in the other, two bell-crank levers pivoted to the brush-holder arm, bars pivotally interposed between the free ends of the levers and said blocks, and means for yieldingly pressing the free end of each of said levers to hold the corresponding pivoted bar against the outer faces of the corresponding blocks.

3. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with a ring-segment and an adjacent, concentric set of contact-plates, of a brush-holder having slots, a pair of contactblocks fitting freely in each of said slots in sideby-side relation, flexible conductors connecting the blocks in one slot with those in the other,a pair of bell-crank levers pivoted to said holder, a pair of bars interposed between the ends of said levers and said blocks, and a pair of springs for holding the ends of the bars in engagement with the outer faces of the blocks.

4. In a controller for electric motors,a brushholder having two slots extending laterally through it and provided with a pair of pivoted bell-crank levers the free ends of which are above the space intermediate said slots, and actuatingsprings therefor, in combination with pairs of side-by-side conducting-blocks fitting freely in said slots and bars pivoted to the ends of said levers with their ends engaging substantially the middle points of the outer faces of said conducting-blocks.

5. In acontroller for electric motors,abrushholder having slots extending through it at right angles to its plane of movement, a plurality of bell -erank levers pivoted to said holder and having bars pivoted to the free ends thereof, and actuating-springs for said levers and bars, in combination with a plurality of blocks located side by side in said slots and having the middle points of their outer faces engaged by the free ends of said bars.

6. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with concentric contact-pieces, of a pivoted brush-holder havingslotsin front of saidcontact-pieces and provided with springactuated, pivoted, bell -crank levers having bars pivoted to their free ends and conductingblocks fitting freely in said slots, the middle points of the outer faces of which are engaged by the free ends of said bars.

7. In a controller for electric motors, a contact-ring and a concentric, annular set of contact strips or plates, in combination with llexibly connected and independently movable contact-blocks mounted in said arm to bear respectively against the contact-rip g and against the'set of strips or plates and a spring-actuated, pivoted bar for yieldingly holding said blocks in proper contact position.

8. The combination with acontact-ringand. a concentric set of contact-strips, of two l'lexibly and electrically connected contact-blocks that resrmctively engage said ring and said strips and a single means for yieldingly maintaining such engagement.

9. The combination with a contact-ringand a concentric set of contact-strips, of twoflexibly and electrically connected contact-blocks that respectively engage said ring and said. strips, a spring-actuated lever and a single means interposed between the said lever and both of said contact-blocks that permits independent, automatic adjustment of the blocks.

10. The combination with two concentric contact members in approximately the same plane and an arm pivoted to move over and adjacent to said members, of two electricallyconnected contact-blocks that are independently supported by said arm to respectively engage said contact members, and a single means for maintaining the engagementol said parts but permitting automatic and independent adjustment thereof.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this Qd day of l,)ecember,

ROBERT WELLENS. \Vitnesses:

BIRNEY HINES, J. O. Monsn. 

